CHRISTMAS GREETINGS!

I was elated when my daughter recently sent me a text

message, "book my flight for December 14!" It meant that for the

first time since she went away to college four years ago she would be

home early enough to help in the selection of the family Christmas

tree. The first year she came home and was disappointed that we had

not put up a 5+foot tree; we thought the NorfolkIsland pine in the bay window was sufficient. The

next year she came in around the 21st or 22nd;we put up the 5+ foot tree and she left after

Christmas lunch to spend time with a friend in Columbia. Wethen sat around and sipped our after

dinner coffee, admiring the tree and missing our daughter. Last year she came home on Christmas

Eve. She was flying in from Paris after spending the entire semester (fromAugust 28th) in Niger.

Our last conversation with her on December 23 was that she was homesick and miserable, and that

the friend who was supposed to drive her to the airport had baled. Wewere almost in tears as we

advised her to go to the concierge and seek assistance in having a taxi available in the early

morning so that she could get to the airport in plenty of time. You will remember (or not) that last

year Paris experienced a fluke snow storm on Christmas Eve. So, without the ability to connect via

cell phones or email, we, actually I, anxiously watched Flight Tracker to see where her flight was.

Due to operator error (mine), I was beginning to panic thinking that the flight had been delayed. I

was pacing the house, planning a 5 hour trip to Atlanta to secure our daughter if her flight was late,

if she was delayed in customs, if she missed her flight. You see, I had been counting the weeks and

the days until I could see my "baby" (now21+).Then my always calm spouse came home for lunch,

helped me correct my error and I realized that while her flight had been delayed, she was actually in

the air. She was scheduled to land in Atlanta at 4:30 and to board her next flight at 5:30.

At 4:35 she called to say that she was in Atlanta. She sounded more than tired: weary and

forlorn come to mind as appropriate adjectives. About 35 minutes later she called sounding like a

weary but happy traveler; she was on her flight to Charleston. She said as she passed through

customs an airport employee - a stranger - a native of Ghana - called out to her; he recognized her

African Calabash as something familiar. He approached her and asked about the Calabash which

is a huge Gourd that has been hollowed out to use as a bowl for transporting personal goods from

place to place, often carried on the head. His next words were, "Youlook like you could use some

help; where do you need to be?" He immediately secured a luggage cart, and escorted her quickly to

her gate. Otherwise, she may have indeed missed her flight.

Gary was busy leading worship at John WesleyUMC,so I went to pick her up at the airport.

There was a mother waiting for her son to arrive from Germany and others as well, but when I saw

my daughter and she saw me, the crowd parted. It really was like a Hollywoodclassic. She

dropped everything and we stood and hugged and cried and jumped up and down and hugged again

for a full two minutes. We collected her things in baggage claim and loaded the car. As we pulled

away from the airport I asked my daughter if she wanted to go home or go to church - we would

probably get there just in time for communion. She replied, "Church! I want me some Jesus!" She

had been in a predominantly Moslem country for 4 months!

It seems that Christmas is indeed that time of year when we all think more about "being

home". Wethink about the people who make our lives special just because they are family. And

then, if you're like me, you remember how precious each member of your family is and how blessed

you are to share Christmas with them.

But I keep thinking about that stranger in the airport. John 1:10 says of Jesus,

"He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."

Today more than ever I think that there are many who are strangers to Jesus and for whom Jesus

is a stranger. So many people have false ideas about who Jesus is. They often think of Jesus/ God

as a vengeful judge who fmds fault with human beings even though scripture teaches "grace and

truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17b).

There are many who think that Jesus has nothing to say to our world today. Myexperience

however, is that the words of Jesus are timeless, fresh and new for every age and for every need.

For instance there is no expiration date on these words:

"Loveyour enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for

those who abuse you" (Luke 6:27-28)

I am convinced that many who celebrate Christmas do not know the Christ and have never

experienced "the Mass" or The Eucharist. They are indeed "strangers to God". I pray that as we

continue our journey towards the blessed celebration of the Homecoming of Jesus, His Holy

Incarnation, that we would take time to reflect on who He really is and to introduce Him to those

around us: the stranger in line at Target; the mother struggling with her children at the bus stop;

the immigrant that so often is a stranger to us, though perhaps not to God; the folks who sing

about the Prince of Peace but do not know the One who alone can give that "peace that passes all

understanding". Seize the opportunity to invite folks, even strangers, to your services for Christmas

Eve and Christmas Day worship, to choral programs and children's activities. In so doing, you may

introduce them to The Christ, a stranger to them, who is ready to say, "WelcomeHome!"

Thank you for your generous gifts to Charleston Wesley Foundation in my honor. Mayyour

Holy days be filled with the joy and hope that Christ alone gives.

Patti